Florida’s Port Everglades received three additional Super Post-Panamax container gantry cranes as part of the port’s US$471 million project to expand its deepwater turn-around area for cargo ships.
The ship-to-shore container gantry cranes are among the world’s largest low-profile cranes, bringing the US port’s total crane count to six Super Post-Panamax, seven Post-Panamax, one Paceco and one mobile harbor crane.
The three 53-metre high Super Post-Panamax container gantry cranes, valued at US$15.1 million each, can handle containers stacked eight high from a ship’s deck and reach 22 containers across the ship’s deck.
Port Everglades’ original seven gantry cranes in the Southport area, where most of the containerised cargo operations take place, are 46 metres high and limited to containers stacked six high and can reach across 16 boxes.
“The port has already seen a massive jump in The World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index 2022 ratings after the installation of the last cranes and completion of additional berth capacity and is now classified as a top 5 port in North America. The additional cranes will serve as a catalyst for even greater port efficiency,” said Port Everglades CEO and Port Director Jonathan Daniels.
In the largest expansion project in Port Everglades’ history, the Southport Turning Notch berth area where the new cranes will be located was recently lengthened from about 275 metres to about 730 metres to accommodate more and larger cargo ships. The new cranes are expected to be fully operational in two to three months.
